The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office has logged more than 3,000 water rescue calls from the Dunedin Causeway area since 2021, including two jet ski-related deaths. The agency presented those figures at the Dunedin City Commission's Thursday, July 23, meeting as commissioners voted unanimously to advance an ordinance banning motorized watercraft launches from the Causeway's south side.

The final vote is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 3.

Dunedin Fire Chief Michael Handoga told commissioners at a June 2 workshop that the two fatal personal watercraft accidents occurred in May 2021 and March 2024. Separate PCSO data presented at that same workshop showed 13,917 total calls for service in the Causeway area between Jan. 1, 2022, and April 30, 2026. Of those, 80 were specifically jet ski-related incidents.

The 3,000-plus water rescue figure, a subset of total calls, was cited by the Sheriff's Office at the July 23 hearing and represents the volume of emergencies requiring on-water response.

The free boat launch on the Causeway's south side has been in use since the 1960s but has been closed since Hurricane Milton damaged the area in 2024. There are no paved ramps on that stretch. Boaters have launched directly from the shoreline, which city officials say causes bank scouring, prop scarring and seagrass damage. Tony Mulkey, Dunedin's director of parks and recreation, said in a June 24 city press release that boat scarring in seagrass beds "can take ten years" to recover.

"During the time that the Causeway has been closed to motorized watercraft launching there has been a resurgence of seagrass, a resurgence of the native wildlife in that area," City Manager Jennifer Bramley said at the June 2 workshop. "The parking issues are no longer there, the trash issues are no longer there."

The proposed ordinance would not restrict motorized watercraft already operating in the Intracoastal Waterway or St. Joseph Sound, which fall under state and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission jurisdiction. Kayakers, paddleboarders and swimmers could still use the Causeway. Enforcement would fall to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

The ban has drawn opposition. More than 1,500 people signed a petition against it as of a July 3 report in the Dunedin Daily. Randy Cabrera of Florida Ski Riders told commissioners July 23, "We need that area. Not just for the vessel launching, just for the experience, the generational, the history."

Alternative public boat ramps are available between two and 12 miles from the Causeway, including a ramp on Seminole Boulevard at $2.25 per hour and one at Sutherland Bayou in Palm Harbor at $6 per launch, according to city staff.

Pinellas County expects hurricane repair construction on the Causeway to be completed by December 2026, according to the city's June 24 press release. The Sept. 3 second reading will determine whether the motorized launch ban becomes permanent before the site reopens.